The invention relates to a steering wheel for motor vehicles, which is to be fastened to a steering column, having an inner frame formed by a steering wheel rim and by at least one spoke directed radially relative to the steering column, the frame being enveloped by a moulded part made of a suitable plastic material, and having an air-bag anti-impact device integrated into the steering wheel and covered by means of a cap, said device comprising a folded air bag which is inflatable by means of a trippable gas producer and is fastened to the steering wheel by its edge delimiting the gas inlet opening associated with the gas producer, the cap being opened by the inflating air bag.
A steering wheel of said type is described in EP 0 582 335 A1; from the structure of the known steering wheel it emerges that, during final assembly of the motor vehicle, the air-bag anti-impact device is installed from the direction of the driver's seat into the open steering wheel already mounted on the steering column and then the assembly opening is closed by means of a cap which is fastenable to the steering wheel by separate fastening means, the cap in turn having a predetermined breaking point for releasing the inflating air bag when it is tripped.
The drawback of a steering wheel constructed in said manner is that the moulded part, which envelops the frame of the steering wheel, and the cap for the air bag have to be manufactured as two separate plastic parts and then be joined together; the inevitable result is either a visible predetermined breaking line or a gap circumscribing the air bag module, which gap as a rule because of the cumulative tolerances of the separate parts during manufacture and assembly is seldom of a uniform width and is therefore visually unattractive. Furthermore, assembly of the air-bag anti-impact device into the open pot of the steering wheel is an elaborate process and it is impossible to rule out faults which, in the motor vehicle, are no longer detectable or are detectable only by a great deal of work on the completely assembled steering wheel.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a steering wheel having the initially described features, which has a more pleasing appearance and in which it is easier to assemble the air-bag anti-impact device.